With two of the three GOP Florida Cabinet candidates refusing to participate in a debate next month, organizers had no choice but to cancel the event.

Attorney general candidate Pam Bondi and Senate President Jeff Atwater, the Republican nominee for chief financial officer, would not agree to debate their Democratic opponents, Florida Press Association president Dean Ridings said today. The press association and Leadership Florida had planned to host the Oct. 5 event at the University of Florida.

GOP agriculture commissioner candidate Adam Putnam was the only Republican who signed up for the debate, Ridings said.

“Pam Bondi and Jeff Atwater would not confirm. We are pretty much at the deadline. And every indication was that they would not participate,” Ridings said. “It didn’t make sense just to do the one” debate, Ridings said.

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U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam snagged the National Rifle Association endorsement this morning in the race for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Putnam, a scion of a powerful Polk County citrus and cattle ranching-family, is running against former Florida Democratic Party chief Scott Maddox.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush has also endorsed endorsed Putnam, a fresh-faced conservative Republican first elected to Congress in 2000 at the age of 26 after serving in the Florida House.

The law firm for Democrat Scott Maddox, the party’s leading contender for the state agriculture commissioner nomination, is one of two firms representing Panhandle fishermen and seafood restaurants in a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Pensacola against BP et al.

Maddox, like others, has turned the oil spill in a political issue. Maddox hopes to embarrass his probable Republican opponent, Adam Putnam, for supporting off-shore drilling. “He maintains his hubris even in the face of new proof that even rigs that are hundreds of miles away can threaten Florida’s beaches,” Maddox said.

Putnam’s campaign manager, Trey McCarley, used the lawsuit to shoot back today:

“When in doubt, sue. As a result of his multiple losing campaigns for 3 of Florida’s 4 available cabinet positions, Scott Maddox has confused job descriptions for the one he’s running for this time. While oil continues to pour out of the earth at a rate of 210,000 gallons per day, Scott Maddox runs to the courthouse to sue someone, anyone, in a desperate attempt to make money from misery.

The job of the Commissioner of Agriculture is to solve problems, to reduce our dependency on countries who hate us with homegrown crops that fuel our cars and power our homes and businesses. Once again Scott proves he’s a lobbyist bottom feeder running for a job he knows little about and cares for even less.”

Democratic Agriculture Commissioner candidate Scott Maddox’s campaign didn’t get off to a slow start although he didn’t begin collecting money until yesterday.

The former head of the state Democratic Party put off raising campaign cash until Sept. 1 – nearly two months after he jumped into the race – for a reason: that’s when matching public money kicks in.

“But today is not just the first day of our fundraising campaign, today also marks the first day that you can more than double your impact! If you contribute today, the State of Florida will match your donation on a 2 to 1 basis up to $250! If you give $50 dollars, the state will match with an additional $100. If you give $100, the State will match an additional $200, and if you give $250, the match will be an additional $500! Please help us take on this challenge and make a difference for Florida’s consumers…and watch your donation grow!” reads an e-mail Maddox sent to supporters yesterday.

Maddox is faces two other contenders in the Democratic primary. Former state Rep. Rick Minton, a Ft. Pierce realtor, and former Suwanee County Commissioner Randy Hatch both want the job. Audubon of Florida lobbyist Eric Draper dropped out of the race after Maddox stepped in.

Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, also a former state House member, from Bartow is the favorite in a GOP primary. Putnam was one of the youngest politicians elected to Congress in 2001 at the age of 26. Opponents in the primary include state Sen. Carey Baker, a gun shop owner from Eustis.

Current Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson is leaving office because of term limits.